May 2016 Review

If I were to describe May in one word, I suppose it would have to be ‘cultural’. There was our last Symphony performance of the season, several museum trips, a live performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and the previously recorded Shakespeare Live, recorded on his ‘birthday’, just to name a few things. I enjoyed creating last month’s review and thought I’d try it out again.

Monthly Projects

This month, I chose two main projects, as opposed to a 30-day challenge. I wasn’t particularly successful, but that is probably because they weren’t completely attainable.

I had a few ideas for photography experiments that I wanted to try, a couple of which required enlisting the help of some other people, which isn’t something that I am really good at and so I put it off. I did not do any of the three photo experiments I thought up, but did do one not on the list: a LEGO build Time Lapse that was pretty fun to put together, and not just because I was playing with LEGO!

The other project was to put together/write a few presentations. I got one – the most pressing one – done, but that’s it, although I did create task lists for the others. So, better than nothing and, really, that one presentation should have been the extent of this monthly goal.

Cross Stitch

I haven’t had a lot of days to spend on cross stitch this month, and I haven’t spent very long on it when I did. I’m still plugging away on A Fairytale Castle. I’d hoped to have it done in time for the Annapolis Valley Exhibition this August, but I’m not too confident about that at the moment. I haven’t given up hope, yet, though! If I do get it done, however, it will be the only piece this year, except perhaps for a Christmas ornament.

Excursions

As I mentioned, this is has been a month full of cultural and other fun outings. :)

Theatre and Music

The month began with our final trip to Symphony Nova Scotia for the season. Their season ender was an amazing performance of Holst’s Planets. I really enjoyed the pre-show talk as well, as I usually do. Doesn’t hurt that there was, of course, a hefty does of Star Wars in that talk!

On the 21st I attended a performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This was the annual production of the St. Joseph’s Stage Prophets – an amateur theatre company that, as far as I know, does just one run a year. One show for about four days. But they are as amazing as Joseph’s coat! They’ve been doing this for over ten years, but my first time was in 2014 for Les Miserables. I was hooked the moment they dragged an enormous boat on stage! The props and costumes are always stunning, as are the acting and singing. And I just love when they bring out the little kids and real baby animals! I also appreciate the live musical accompaniment. This year, however, I did feel that the musicians could have done better. That was only noticeable during the instrumental parts, however. The singing covered any other mistakes. If you’re local, I highly recommend attending next year… even if I don’t know what it will be, yet!

Finally, later that week, a small group of us headed to the Cineplex at Dartmouth Crossing to watch a performance of a Shakespeare variety show – Shakespeare Live – recorded a month previously for his 400th ‘birthday’. Hosted by Doctor Who alumni David Tennant and Catherine Tate, and featuring many other popular acts and actors, it was an amazing sampler of both Shakespeare and works inspired by his plays, poetry, and life.

Museums

For Mother’s Day, the whole family went to explore Ross Farm Museum. None of us had visited before, and we all enjoyed the excursion! We all agreed that our favourite spot was the smithy and the copper shop, but it’d be a lie to say we didn’t also enjoy the molasses cookies we snagged in the cottage.

Just a couple of days later, I checked out the Kings County Museum. I have been here a few times, but not for a while. I was drawn to visit now because they are hosting a small exhibit (until the fall, so check it out!) arranged by the West Nova Scotia Regiment regarding Canadian snipers in World War Two. As I mentioned, it is a small exhibit, but very informative. The Historical Society’s AGM was last night and included a talk on this subject, so I attended that as well.

Zoos are sorta museums for animals, right? It totally belongs in this section! As a sort of going away ‘party’ for someone, three of us headed down to Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford. While I’m not really a fan of zoos, generally, I love going to this one! The others had never been at feeding time, so that’s what we did. This is the best time to visit this zoo because Gail, the owner, takes you on a brief tour through part of the zoo as she feeds the big cats. She tells those following along about the animals and we also visit with some other, non-feline, residents. We ended the evening at Johnny’s in Berwick for some yummy ice cream and amazing fries. (Seriously, I never thought I’d say that about fries but…)

Other Fun Stuff

A friend was going to a Trivia Night in Halifax one evening. I wasn’t really interested in the Trivia – I’m no good at that stuff – but I went along anyway and enjoyed hanging out in the city on my own. I met someone else at the library for coffee, visited a nearby bookshop, and ended up at Maxwell’s Plum for some beer and snacks and sat and read a book until it was time to head back home. Doesn’t sound very interesting, but I enjoy those nights out!

The month really ended with a ‘bang’ as my family came down for supper and to watch the fireworks for our local Apple Blossom Festival. It was a great show, as always, but I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t set to music as it had been the last couple of years. That sort of always made an already great show amazing. Figures the one time I convince them to come down for it… We headed back to my place and played a game while they waited for the traffic to die down so they could head home.

So, yeah, it’s been a busy month!

Photography

I have managed to go out and take photos at least once every weekend – which, for me, is pretty amazing. They haven’t all been successes; some I haven’t even bothered to post anywhere. But it was good. I just need to work on being more deliberate with my photography.

The most fun I had was creating the time lapse video that mentioned earlier. It was my first real attempt at doing something like that. There are definitely some areas I need to work on, but I already have ideas for a couple of more experiments in this area.

I also purchased a new camera at a flea market earlier this month. I’m a bit behind on playing with new cameras, not to mention getting some film developed and purchasing new. The money bits will have to wait a while, though.

This would maybe be a good time to remind you about my Patreon. You could help me buy supplies! :D I also have some cards up for purchase on eBay.

Favourite Purchase: Definitely the Millennium Falcon LEGO I bought for the Time Lapse!

Interesting Things I Watched/Listened To: I’m catching up on episodes of the Jocko Podcast. He is a retired Navy SEAL who now writes and lectures/consults about leadership. He starts off his podcasts with a book review. In one I just recently listened to, he discusses Shakespeare’s Henry V. It’s the first time anyone’s made me interested in going and reading Shakespeare.

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Welcome

I'm a photographer & traveller based in Nova Scotia, Canada. I also enjoy science and history. Add a bit of Star Wars and cross stitch and you pretty much know what you'll see here. At the moment, my focus is architectural and abstract photography, with some event photography thrown in. I've appeared in several exhibitions. I look forward to sharing my photography with you!